Real Estate News

BUILD BACK BETTER BILL (infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act): WHAT’S IN IT FOR REAL ESTATE?

• $90 Billion for Section 8
• $80 Billion for Public Housing
• $10 Billion for First-Time Homebuyers
• $5.3 Billion for Rural Housing
• $4.3 Billion for the “Unlocking Possibilities Program”
• $4 Billion for Distressed Multifamily Housing
• $4 Billion for Flood Resilience
• $2.8 Billion for Minority-Owned Businesses

• The Build Back Better bill also includes significant money for transportation improvements, re-routing streets and removing lead paint from housing, all of which could have significant effects on real estate markets. Twenty-five billion is also going to the Small Business Administration including money for the popular 7(a) microloan program, which serves many real estate businesses. (Note: SBA inspector general suggests further evaluation of program.)

Also notable is what the house bill did not end up including. The bill fails to close two tax loopholes—the so-called carried interest loophole and like-kind exchanges. The carried interest loophole allows taxpayers to pay a much lower rate on capital gains compared to straight income, and like-kind exchanges involve deferring taxes when exchanging investment properties. NAR has lobbied against changing these practices, which largely benefit very wealthy individuals, arguing that they are not loopholes and promote business growth, while some politicians on both sides of the aisle see them as contributing to massive wealth inequality.